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PHOTOS: Rob Portman's career

FLASHBACK: President Obama endorses gay marriage

Two years ago, his son Will came out to Portman and his wife, Jane, during Will’s freshman year at Yale University, which eventually led Portman to support same-sex marriage.

“I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married,” Portman wrote Friday in an op-ed in The Columbus Dispatch.

He later wrote: “Two years ago, my son Will, then a college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said he’d known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn’t something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I were proud of him for his honesty and courage. We were surprised to learn he is gay but knew he was still the same person he’d always been. The only difference was that now we had a more complete picture of the son we love.”

Portman said he discussed the issue with members of his church’s community and former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, whose daughter is gay.

“The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue,” Portman told reporters during an interview in his office on Thursday, according to The Plain Dealer.

He also said: “It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have — to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.”

Portman also said that he informed 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney that his son was gay when he was being interviewed as a possible running mate.